The latest GTC Medical Aid Survey for 2016 has been released, which compares local medical aid schemes on price across various levels of cover.<\/p>\n
According to the latest\u00a0General Household Survey from Stats SA,\u00a0only 17.5% of South Africans are covered by medical aid.<\/p>\n
Between 2002 and 2015, individuals who were covered by a medical aid scheme increased from 7.3 million to 9.5 million persons.<\/p>\n
According to the Council for Medical Schemes\u2019 Annual Report, released in July 2015, 37.55% of all medical aid costs were in-hospital, followed by 23.51% from specialists of which less than 10% was attributable to out-of-hospital services.<\/p>\n
This reflects a total of almost 61% of healthcare costs paid for by medical aids were for in-hospital\u00a0procedures.\u00a0Expenditure on all health benefits by medical schemes rose by 11.1% in 2014 to reach R124.1 billion.<\/p>\n
The GTC makes an admission that trying to compare medical aid schemes in a comprehensive way is virtually impossible due to how various schemes are composed – with a wide array of additional benefits mixed and matched from scheme to scheme.<\/p>\n
As such, in its comparative survey, it did not take the different benefits of schemes into account, and rather focused on an “apples with apples” comparison of cost<\/strong> across different plan categories.<\/p>\n The plan categories include:<\/p>\n “It is hardly news that consumers have a vast range of medical scheme plans to choose from,” the group said.<\/p>\n “As always, the correct decision demands that all factors be considered, especially ones\u2019 personal circumstances and needs, which outweigh all other factors.”<\/p>\n GTC assessed medical aid schemes across all categories and managed to rank plans according to their complete costs, risk costs (in-hospital costs), likelihood of support, and the target markets they aim for.<\/p>\n The full document<\/a><\/strong> includes a detailed breakdown of the findings, and which plan is best for a single member, a member with a spouse, and for a family with two children.<\/p>\n Below, we have isolated the best and worst entry level and comprehensive medical aid plans for a single member.<\/p>\n The rankings are not purely price-based, but take into account all micro and macro comparisons done by GTC.<\/p>\n Best and worst Entry Level medical aids<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s worth noting that many (but not all)\u00a0entry level\u00a0plans are salary banded, allowing for cross-subsidisation with those earning higher salaries paying\u00a0higher premiums for the same benefits as those earning lower salaries.<\/p>\n The table above\u00a0identifies both student-level premium plans (students earning less than R1,000\u00a0per month) and the upper range, earning R15,000+ per month.<\/p>\n Best and worst Comprehensive medical aids<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
Finding the best and worst<\/h3>\n
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\n #<\/th>\n Plan<\/th>\n Cost range p.a.<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1<\/td>\n CompCare NetworX<\/td>\n R4 320 – R20 700<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2<\/td>\n FedHealth Blue Door Plus<\/td>\n R8 280 – R25 368<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3<\/td>\n Sizwe Gomomo Care<\/td>\n R8 400 – R22 680<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4<\/td>\n Momentum Ingwe Network<\/td>\n R4 560 – R20 172<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 5<\/td>\n Bonitas BonCap<\/td>\n R4 416 – R22 008<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 18<\/td>\n Thebemed Energy Core<\/td>\n R14 292 – R39 108<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 19<\/td>\n Resolution Progressive Flex<\/td>\n R22 920<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 20<\/td>\n Thebemed Energy Medium<\/td>\n R17 844 – R41 148<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 21<\/td>\n Thebemed Energy Open<\/td>\n R20 100 – R51 444<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 22<\/td>\n Commed Standard<\/td>\n R32 760 – R38 040<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n